Fernando, 16, Finds a Sanctuary in Crime Essay

Neighborhoods with higher poverty, ethnic diversity, and population instability are associated with higher rates of crime and delinquency. All of these things contribute to the breakdown of social cohesion and informal social control (O’Brien, 2006), creating an unlikely environment for early childhood development and optimal outcome.

A person's childhood will ultimately determine the course of the rest of their lives. Statistically, children who are born into poor locations are more likely to commit robberies and to engage in gang-related criminality. The people who are most at-risk are African American youth, particularly males from single-parent households (Wheelock & Ugeen 2006, page 2). Within low-income areas, there are many associated hardships including lack of educational opportunities, health care, potential employment, and an influx of

As a criminologist who has studied early crime prevention I have recognized a theme of the background of children who grow up to become criminals. It all starts when the mother becomes pregnant but it really starts to impact the child right at birth. If mother and child are not properly able to create a connection right after birth, for example having the baby taken away for medical purposes, it can cause the mother to not feel like the mother. That disconnect can last for a long time leaving the child now at a later age feeling a form of loneliness or neglect, leading them to commit crime.

Crime exists and occurs in societies worldwide; it takes place in both developed as well as in developing countries, therefore the occurring of crime is also true in the case of a great nation such as the United States. There exist several major factors that directly as well as indirectly foster the rise of crime in societies such as poverty, injustice, drug addiction, unemployment, psychological factors, family background, racism and volatile political scenario. While all of these factors foster acts of crime in society, poverty is undoubtedly the most powerful and most influential factor that leads to crime because it encompasses several other interrelated issues thus making poverty the prime contributor to crime in the United States; and

From 2002 to 206, 20% of all homicides in Urban areas could be attributed to gang violence (McDaniels, 2012). One notable characteristic of gang membership in the United States, is that youth who join gangs are more likely to engage in assault, robbery, felony theft, and breaking and entering, than their non-gang peers (Hill, et al., 2001). The lack of proper parental supervision in communities with high risk factors such as high poverty rates, is closely associated with delinquent behaviors in juveniles. It is therefore worthwhile to study the impact of socioeconomic factors in a child’s upbringing, and how such factors influence a child’s tendency to engage in deviant behavior. Consequently, it is also equally as important to study the protective barriers parents and community provide to their youth that assist in better coping with adversity.

The first study was conducted by Theobald, Farrington and Piquero, (2013) who looked at disadvantaged upbringings such as childhood broken homes, adult violence or a low family income and whether this contributed to potential criminality. By conducting this research they found that violence and hyperactivity links to the effect of a broken home on later violent criminal convictions. Crime is quite often thought to be more common among individuals with lower incomes, and although this study does take into account wealth, other factors such as social measures and education should be taken into account alongside

They attend poor schools, live in substandard housing, and lack good health care. More than half of families in poverty are fatherless and husband less; many are supported entirely by government aid. Neighborhoods that provide few employment opportunities are the most vulnerable to predatory crime. Unemployment destabilizes households, and unstable families are more likely to produce children who choose aggression as a means of dealing with limited opportunity. Because adults cannot serve as role models, and social institutions are frayed or absent, law-violating youth groups and gangs form and are free to recruit neighborhood youths.

Most of the paper will include theorist perspectives on developmental trajectories associated with an early age of onset and continuation of crime (antisocial behavior, an environment, biology, etc.). Theorist claims are that teenagers are prone to risky behaviors and deviant acts. The typical starting point for criminal behavior is around 14 through 17 years of age. Anti-social behaviors diminish (limited to youthful misadventures) before the child reaches age 20 provided there are no problems to prevent this change (Wright, Tibbetts & Daigle, 2008). Children under years 10 do not usually present with criminal behavior, even if they show propensity throughout this developmental phase although they may

Many young people who are at risk of becoming delinquent often live in difficult circumstances, such as poverty, parental alcoholism, abusive conditions, and urban overcrowding. Teens who experience these are at greater risk of falling into juvenile delinquency (World Youth Report 194-95). Crimes, such as theft, are often committed as a result of needs having to be met – food, clothing, shelter, or because teens feel that they need to keep up and have the same luxuries as their peers (Banham Bridges 559). Juvenile delinquency is often thought of as involving only teens from disadvantaged homes, but teens from affluent homes also commit crimes due to lack of parental control or

For example, a British newspaper from the 1980s, asked 1,000 adults what they think the main causes of crime are. The majority of people, 53%, answered that the lack of parental discipline was the most dominant cause of crime, whilst others, 20% considered poverty as a factor of crime and 20% for television violence. Therefore, this highlights that poor parenting is a significant factor of criminal behaviour. Similarly, not a lot of parental involvement in the child's life has also been found to influence criminal behaviour. For example, a father who was never involved in his son's social events increased his risk of offending, this tends to happen generally after the age of 21. Another similar factor is poor communication between a parent and child which can contribute to bad behaviour. One important theory known as the ‘social learning theory’ highlighted that the role of the family and peer group are key factors of criminal behaviour and the role of ‘reinforcement and punishment’ determines whether a person take part in criminality. Therefore a person learns how to behave from the people around them. For an example, students who show hostile behaviour towards their friends are more likely to rejected, this creates poor relationships and leads to the students making friends with those who have similar behaviours to them. If the relationship continued into adulthood then it could result in an environment where they influence and encourage one another to lean towards criminal behaviour (Holmes et al., 2001). This is supported by Matthews (2001) who found that young criminals were more likely to have friends who also take part in inappropriate or illegal acts than non-criminals. These studies show that other than TBI, family and friends are important factors of offending

In the story, “The Killers,” Freud’s three personality structures are reflected as Al and Max threaten the life of Ole Andreson. ID, for instance, seems to be controlling the killers’ desires for immediate gratification at the restaurant as they demand quick service. On another note, the superego drives the killers to murder Andreson because of an obligation, while Andreson doesn’t fight his eventual death because of rationalizations by his ego. In all, the behaviors of these characters proves that the way people act and react to certain situations is very complex in which both the unconscious and conscious minds underlie behavior.

Travis, C.P; Michael, G.T; & Alex, R.P (2004), Parental Socialization and Community Context: A Longitudinal Analysis of the Structural Sources of Low Self-Control. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 41(3), 219-243

Children are a precious gift that many people are blessed with. Unfortunately, many children are thrown into environments and situations that no one should ever be faced with. Children are often born into families of crime or live in a criminal environment. The question that everyone is wondering, does genetics play a role in a criminal behaviors and actions or does an environmental factor play a role in criminal behaviors. The big debate of nature versus nurture will be discussed.

There are four top social risk factors believed for the involvement of crime. Parental behavior plays a large role in a child’s risk of involvement of crime because of the parent’s influence on a child’s development (“Social Risk Factors for Involvement of Crime”). Poor parenting in supervision, maltreatment of a child, or if the parent is a

Juvenile offending is a major problem in society. Understanding the risk factors that contribute to the increased likelihood of a juvenile to engage in delinquency is important. There are many factors that can influence the increased risk of juvenile delinquency. These factors include poverty, low socioeconomic status, age (Jarjoura, Triplett, & Brinker, 2002), race, gender (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015), education (Lucero, Barret, & Jensen, 2015; Jarjoura, 1993), and family structure (Anderson, 2002; Kierkus & Hewitt, 2009). It is important to examine if some risk factors can contribute more than others and to what extent they interact with one another. This paper will discuss three important risk factors that contribute to the likelihood of juveniles engaging in deviant acts. The three risk factors discussed are poverty, family structure, and educational attainment. In addition, this paper will demonstrate how these three risk factors interact with one another, resulting in a higher propensity for involvement in juvenile delinquency.